Winch maintenance

[zeilersailor]

Hello there,

I want to re-grease my winches.
Do you find it necessary to first clean out all the old grease before adding the new grease?
What kind of grease should I use?
Thanks for the advice

[Cap Erict3]

I use light oil on the roller bearings and pawls and a dab of silicone grease on the gear teeth. I wipe everything clean first.


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Looking for another pretty place to work on the boat.

[Cap Erict3]

http://www.lewmar.com/products.asp?id=8806


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Looking for another pretty place to work on the boat.

[Terra Nova]

I first wash everything in kerosene using a stiff brush to remove all old oil, grease and dirt, and some thin pieces of wood to scrape dried lube off. Then I apply winch grease to all bearings (by hand) and to all gear teeth, using a chip or acid brush. Pawl oil only on the pawls.

[Polux]

Yes you need to take first the old grease. I use WW40 and paper for taking the old grease away and use proper winch grease. Be careful not to put too much grease (I use an old toothbrush for that).

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Cap Erict3

No Category products

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1. Two or three times during active sailing season:
Winches should be stripped, cleaned and re-lubricated.
No Category products

If I had read that before I would make sure I would not buy Lewmar winches

I don't know anybody that strip clean and lubricate their winches two or three times during an active sailing season. Are they talking about top racing boats? Even so 3 times a season....that's probably rare.

[lifeofreilly57]

I've usually just cleaned and serviced mine once a season and have never had a failure with any of the boats I've had. I've had winches by most of the major makers and haven't had a failure with them. Including one boat I raced in a regular weekly series and other weekend races for several years.
Of course the better you maintain them the better they perform.
Most boats I've owned (never owned a brandy new one) had winches that most likely had never been serviced since they were built before i owned them seeing that the grease in them had turned to solid muck of some kind. When done annually the parts come out almost as clean as when serviced which makes them much easier to service.

[Cap Erict3]

I have seen grease on the pawls causing them to stick.


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Looking for another pretty place to work on the boat.

[CarlF]

+1 on WD-40 to clean off the old grease. It's cheap and the spray straw really gets into the crevices. Get the big "40% extra for free" can at HD.

There was a time when men-were-men that boats heeled more and sheet winches spent a fair bit of time submerged along with the leeward rail. Those Lewmar winch instruction came from those days (and a lawyer)

The winches on my current boat get an occasional bit of spray but not the sort of salt water firehose that gets up inside the gears.

And the winch greases are much longer lasting. Use the grease recommended by the winch manufacturer. (and only light oil like 3-1 oil on the spring pawls)

I only grease my winches every 2-3 years and most still look perfect when I lift the drum off for the cleaning.

This infrequent greasing also means that I have far fewer opportunities to drop bits of the winch overboard.

Here's an old trick, before taking the winch apart, cut a hole the size of the winch in the bottom of a cardboard box. Place the box over the winch for both assembly and dis-assembly. This will give you a fighting chance to hold onto all the pieces. Also, take cell phone pictures at every step of dis-assembly to get things back together again later.

[onestepcsy37]

I use brake cleaner to clean up the winch, cheap and very effective. Lately I've been using engine assembly grease on just about everything I own that needs grease. Get it at auto parts stores.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

I use brake cleaner to clean up the winch, cheap and very effective. Lately I've been using engine assembly grease on just about everything I own that needs grease. Get it at auto parts stores.

Regarding the Grease is very important to be a waterproof one, most aren't.